On Wednesday, Napoli cruised to a 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt to win their round of 16 tie 5-0 on aggregate and secure a spot in the quarter-finals. This marks unchartered territory for the Partenopei, who have never gotten this far in European club football's premier competition.
Next up for Napoli? An intriguing quarter-finals tie against AC Milan, who will be hoping to make a strong run after missing out on the Champions League in recent times.
Considering that Napoli could have faced the likes of Real Madrid or Manchester City, two teams widely viewed as heavy favorites to win this season's competition, there were quite a few people who assumed that the Partenopei would be "relieved" to be paired with the Rossoneri.
However, Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti has moved quickly to deny that his side are "happy" with their upcoming opponent with some pretty strong words during a press conference.
"[To be honest], I would have preferred not to meet an Italian side", the Partenopei tactician noted in an interview with Kiss Kiss Napoli.
"[Incredibly], I've already heard some rumours going around [regarding our upcoming match against Milan]. [To be honest], only the footballing incompetents talk about [facing Milan as] a good draw because [frankly] Milan feel at home in the Champions League, they have won the competition seven times, [which] is only second to Real Madrid".
Spalletti's men are also comfortably on top of the Serie A table as the Southern Italian side seek to win what would be their first Scudetto in over 30 years, so are pretty much looking set to win at least one title this season. Their impressive performance in the Champions League does have some wondering if Napoli do have the potential to be this season's dark horses - but first, they will need to successfully navigate their way through a two-legged clash against Milan next month.
